Sales has never been short on tools. Yet most reps still start their day buried in tabs, chasing down context, and stitching together information that should be at their fingertips. The result? Less time building relationships and more time preparing for them.
Our recent research with 500+ sales professionals found that reps spend 2.3 hours per day on pre-meeting work—nearly 30% of their week—yet still feel underprepared when they talk to buyers.
The hidden cost of pre-meeting work
Every hour spent hunting for information is an hour not spent selling. Beyond the time sink, it also creates risk—outdated insights, missed signals, and generic conversations that don't move deals forward.
"Preparation isn't the problem—fragmented preparation is."
The three sources of research overload
Reps told us their pre-meeting work comes from three places:
- 1Too many tools — CRM, intent data, news, LinkedIn, internal docs.
- 2Disconnected data — Hard to piece together a complete account picture.
- 3Constant context switching — More tabs, copy/paste, and rework.
What high-performing reps do differently
Top performers simplify. They have a single source of truth for account intelligence, automation that surfaces what matters, and workflows that turn research into relevance—fast.
Turning research into relevance
The goal isn't more data—it's better context. Start with your buyer's priorities, surface signals that matter, and tailor every interaction. When your prep reflects your buyer's world, you earn their attention.
